Mineral potential

Mineral resources within the UK are highly valued natural assets. Their extraction contributes 2.4 per cent of the national gross value added. They are the raw materials for many key industries including manufacturing, construction, power generation and transportation.

The UK has a variety of natural resources including geological ones such as coal, petroleum, natural gas, limestone, chalk, gypsum, silica, rock salt, china clay, iron ore, tin, silver, gold, lead as well as agricultural (arable land, wheat, barley, sheep).

The UK has large coal, natural gas, and oil reserves; primary energy production accounts for 10% of GDP, one of the highest shares of any industrial nation. Due to the island location of the UK, the country has great potential for generating electricity from wave power and tidal power, although these have not yet been exploited on a commercial basis.

EMBLEMS OF BRITAIN

Each country in Britain has its own patron saint and floral emblem.

The patron saint of England is St. George.

The national flower of England is the rose. The flower has been adopted as England’s emblem since the time of the Wars of the Roses - civil wars (1455-1485) between the royal house of Lancaster (whose emblem was a red rose) and the royal house of York (whose emblem was a white rose).

The patron saint of Scotland is St. Andrew.

The national flower of Scotland is the thistle, a prickly-leaved purple flower which was first used in the 15th century as a symbol of defence. The Scottish Bluebell is also seen as the flower of Scotland.

The patron saint of Wales is St. David.

The national flower of Wales is the daffodil, which is traditionally worn on St. David’s Day. The vegetable called leek is also considered to be a traditional emblem of Wales. There are many explanations of how the leek came to be adopted as the national emblem of Wales. One is that St David advised the Welsh, on the eve of battle with the Saxons, to wear leeks in their caps to distinguish friend from foe. As Shakespeare records in Henry V, the Welsh archers wore leeks at the battle of Agincourt in 1415.

The patron saint of Northern Ireland is St. Patrick.

The national flower of Northern Ireland is the shamrock, a three-leaved plant similar to clover. An Irish tale tells of how Patrick used the three-leafed shamrock to explain the Trinity. He used it in his sermons to represent how the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit could all exist as separate elements of the same entity. His followers adopted the custom of wearing a shamrock on his feast day.

The Royal Coat of Arms carries the symbols representing England, Scotland and Ireland, the Sovereign's motto and the lion and the unicorn.

Questions:

1. What is the location of the British Isles?

2. How can the climate of the British Isles be characterized?

3. What regions does Highland Britain/ Lowland Britain comprise?

4. Where is Snowdonia situated? What is it?

5. What is the largest lake of the British Isles?

6. What areas in Great Britain enjoy least rainfall?

7. What is the difference between lakes and lochs?

8. What flower is the national symbol of England? /of Wales?/ of Scotland?

9. What ocean and seas are the British Isles washed by?

10. What country does Northern Ireland border on?

11. Are there any high mountains in Great Britain?